U.S. patent number 10,531,715 [Application Number 15/405,751] was granted by the patent office on 2020-01-14 for bead tray.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Choon's Design LLC. The grantee listed for this patent is Choon's Design LLC. Invention is credited to Cheong Choon Ng.
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United States Patent |
10,531,715 |
Ng |
January 14, 2020 |
Bead tray
Abstract
A disclosed bead tray for holding and sorting beads includes a
tray with a contoured bottom surface for orientating beads and
guiding the beads from the tray onto a track. The track is disposed
between side surfaces that are angled away from the track. The side
surfaces are angled such that an end of a string is guided upward
toward the track and into an opening of a bead within the
track.
Inventors: |
Ng; Cheong Choon (Novi,
MI) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Choon's Design LLC |
Wixom |
MI |
US |
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Assignee: |
Choon's Design LLC (Wixom,
MI)
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Family
ID: |
59275149 |
Appl.
No.: |
15/405,751 |
Filed: |
January 13, 2017 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20170196319 A1 |
Jul 13, 2017 |
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Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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62278039 |
Jan 13, 2016 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
83/0481 (20130101); A44C 27/00 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B23P
19/00 (20060101); A44C 27/00 (20060101); B65D
83/04 (20060101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Wilson; Lee D
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Carlson, Gaskey & Olds,
P.C.
Parent Case Text
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
The application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No.
62/278,039 which was filed on Jan. 13, 2016.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A device for holding and sorting beads, the device comprising: a
tray portion including a contoured surface for orientating beads
for exiting the tray portion and sides surrounding the contoured
surface; and a track portion receiving beads from the tray and
positioning the received beads relative to guiding surfaces on
either side of the track portion, the guiding surfaces angled
downward and away from the track portion at a non-normal angle
relative to a top of the track portion that is different than an
angle of sides of the tray portion such that a string sliding along
either one of the guiding surfaces toward the track portion crosses
over the track portion at a height corresponding with an opening
defined within the bead.
2. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein the track portion
includes a bottom surface disposed at a depth from the top of the
guiding surfaces, the depth defining the position of the opening of
the bead relative to the guiding surfaces.
3. The device as recited in claim 2, wherein the bottom surface
includes a profile that aligns the bead opening transverse with a
longitudinal length of the track portion.
4. The device as recited in claim 3, wherein each of the beads
includes a bead width and a bead outer diameter, wherein the width
is less than the outer diameter and the track includes a track
width that corresponds to the bead width and is less than the bead
outer diameter.
5. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein the track portion is
angled downwardly away from the tray portion such that beads move
toward an end of the track portion.
6. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein the both the tray
portion and the entire track portion are disposed at a common angle
to move beads from the tray portion into the track portion.
Description
BACKGROUND
This disclosure generally relates to method and device for
threading beads onto a string or thread for creating a beaded
item.
Beads are sometimes threaded onto a string or thread to create
bracelets, or other beaded items and jewelry. In some instances it
is necessary to thread multiple beads onto a single strand of
string, thread, wire or elastic. Threading beads onto a string can
be tedious and time consuming. Holding a bead in one hand and
guiding a string through an opening in the bead with the other
takes time, dexterity and patience. In some instances, the time
taken to thread beads onto string can detract from the initial
excitement and interest in making the beaded item. Moreover, beads
are relative small items that can be difficult to organize and
maintain in a way that both eases assembly and prevents errant
misplacement of beads.
SUMMARY
A disclosed bead tray for holding and sorting beads includes a tray
with a contoured bottom surface for orientating beads and guiding
the beads from the tray onto a track. The track is disposed between
side surfaces that are angled away from the track. The side
surfaces are angled such that an end of a string is guided upward
toward the track. The track includes depth to set an opening in the
bead into alignment with a top of the track and the side surface
such that the end of the string is guided upward along the side
surface and into the opening of the bead.
Accordingly, the disclosed bead tray aids the task of threading a
string onto a bead to improve the experience of creating a beaded
item.
These and other features disclosed herein can be best understood
from the following specification and drawings, the following of
which is a brief description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an example bead tray
embodiment.
FIG. 2A is a front view of an example bead.
FIG. 2B is a side view of the example bead.
FIG. 3 is a side view of the example bead tray.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a bead within a track portion of the
example bead tray.
FIG. 5 is a top view of the example bead tray.
FIG. 6 is front view of the example bead tray.
FIG. 7A is a schematic view of first step in a disclosed method of
inserting a string into a bead.
FIG. 7B is a schematic view of another step in a disclosed method
of inserting a string into a bead.
FIG. 7C is a schematic view of yet another step in a disclosed
method of inserting a string into a bead.
FIG. 7D is a schematic view of an additional step in a disclosed
method of inserting a string into a bead.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to FIG. 1, a bead sorting tray 10 is schematically
illustrated and includes a tray portion 12 for holding beads 16 and
a loading portion 14. The tray 12 includes a bin 26 for holding a
plurality of beads 16. The bin 26 leads to the loader 14. The
loader 14 includes a track portion 34 where beads 16 are fed from
the bin 26 and aligned for easy threading of a thread, string or
other elongated members schematically illustrated at 15. The track
34 provides for the bead 16 to be aligned and orientated such that
openings through the bead 16 are disposed transverse to the track
34 to provide for easy threading. The bin 26 includes a bottom
surface 28 that is contoured to direct the beads into the track
34.
The disclosed embodiment is a single unitary structure and the term
"portion" is used to indicate parts of the disclosed embodiment. It
should be understood that it is specifically with the contemplation
of this disclosure that the disclosed bead tray could be made as a
single structure or from any different structures and parts jointed
together.
Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B with continued reference to FIG. 1,
each of the beads 16 includes an outer diameter 18, an inner
diameter 24 and a width 20. Each of the beads 16 also includes a
thickness 22 between the outer diameter 18 and the inner diameter
24.
Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 with continued reference to FIG. 1, the
example track 34 includes a profile that aligns the inner diameter
24 with side surface 38 of the loading portion 14. The track 34
includes a bottom surface 42 that is contoured to hold the bead 16
in an upright position as is illustrated in FIG. 3. The side
surfaces 38 are angled to align the string member 15 with the inner
diameter 24 of each of the beads 16. In this example, the track 34
includes a width 46 and a depth 44. The depth 44 and width 46 work
in concert to align the beads 16 such that the inner diameter 24 is
substantially aligned with the sides 38.
The example track 34 is angled downwardly at an angle 32 such that
the beads 16 will roll down the track 24 against an end lip 36. The
bin 26 includes the bottom surface 28 that directs the beads 16
into the loader 14. The loader 14 includes the track 34 angled
downwardly at the angle 32 such that the beads 16 are directed into
the track 34 and orientated relative to the side surfaces 38.
The example tray track 34 includes the width 46 and the depth 44
that properly aligns bead 16 of a given size with the sides 38 such
that the inner diameter 24 is aligned with the sides 38. However,
the width 46, depth 44, bottom surface profile 42 and angle 32 can
be tailored to accommodate any size of beads 16.
Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6 with continued reference to FIGS. 1-4,
the example bead tray 10 includes the bin 28 that includes a bottom
surface 28. The bottom surface 28 includes contours 30a, 30b, 30c
that direct the beads into the track 34. The contours 30a-c are
arranged to direct beads into the tracks 34 in a manner such that
they are orientated in an upright manner. In other words, each of
the beads 16 are orientated such that the inner diameter or opening
through each of the beads 16 extends across the track 34. Moreover,
the beads 16 are orientated such that the outer diameter allows
them to roll downward through the track 34 and be stopped against
the lip 36.
Referring to FIG. 6 with continued reference to FIG. 3, the example
loader portion 14 includes the track 34 with angled side surfaces
38. The angled side surfaces 38 are disposed at an angle indicated
at 40 that provides for the easy installation or threading of a
thread string or other elongated member through the inner diameter
of a bead supported within the track 34.
Referring to FIG. 7A-7D, the side surfaces 38 provide for alignment
of the string or thread material with the inner diameter 24 of a
bead 16. In this example, an end of a thread 15 is directed towards
the loader portion 14 and impacts the side surface 38 as is
illustrated in FIG. 7B. The angle 40 of the side surface 38
orientates the threaded member 15 such that it proceeds upward
along the side surface 38 towards the bead 16 within the track 34.
The angle 38 is provided such that the thread 15 guides along the
side surface 38 and is directed into the inner diameter 24 of the
bead 16 as is shown in FIG. 7C. Accordingly, the threaded member 15
will extend through the inner diameter 24 of the bead 16 as shown
in FIG. 7D and enable the bead 16 to be removed from the track 34,
where another bead 16 is loaded into place for assembly onto the
thread 15.
Accordingly, the example bead tray provides not only for
organization of the beads but also eases assembly and the creation
of a beaded item.
Although an example embodiment has been disclosed, a worker of
ordinary skill in this art would recognize that certain
modifications would come within the scope of this disclosure. For
that reason, the following claims should be studied to determine
the scope and content of this invention.
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